Prague, 6 March 2000 (RFE/RL) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned ethnic Albanian extremists from Kosovo that they are wrong to think they can spur western military intervention in southern Serbia by launching guerrilla attacks there. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL in Prague last night, Albright said the U.S. is "very concerned" about clashes between Belgrade's Interior Ministry police and former Kosova Liberation Army extremists.
Albright urged restraint from both sides and has asked Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to urge restraint from Belgrade.
"Well they (ethnic Albanians) shouldn't miscalculate because I think that the problem here is that the international community is devoting a great deal of time and energy into helping them, the Kosovars, create a place for them to be able to exercise a high degree of autonomy and self-government, and the Kosovars should concentrate on that."